The blazing Sun rose higher, unleashing endless light and heat, showering the grand Great Pyramid Temple with its glow. The shadow of the pyramid gradually retracted, leaving only the profound darkness within the Temple. The elders vanished into the darkness, while the High Priest’s arms lifted in the light, the ritual climbed toward its climax!
One after another, the blue Sacrifices ascended the platform amid fervent cheers that pierced the heavens. The Sun God opened His eyes indifferently. He watched the brilliant colors, admired the scroll of life; He inhaled the wafting divine smoke, demanding the tribute of souls; He licked the burning flames, devouring the flesh and blood of the Sacrifices. Finally, with the priests’ impassioned chanting, He let out a contented sigh, thunderous like Thunderbolt, shaking heaven and earth, dispatching His avatar to the world of men!
On the pure gold gun mounts, three massive new wooden cannons aimed at the sky were fired, suddenly bursting forth with a shocking roar! The cannon wind swept through, and the banners of the trinity of deities fluttered behind the gun mounts. Sequentially depicted on the banners were the three images of Huitzilopochtli: the Chief Divine seated upon the Throne of the Gods, the Sun God donning the Golden Crown, and the War God with Lightning in his grasp. This signified that the wooden cannons before them were indeed Divine Artifacts granted by the deities!
The intense roar of the cannon conveyed a chilling Divine Might, causing the sky to shake and the earth to tremble, bringing silence all around! Instantly, the multitudes on the plaza prostrated themselves, bowing in awe beneath the Divine Might, and envoys from various states also knelt in frightened veneration. The High Priest then loudly proclaimed.
"Praise the Chief Divine! The avatar of the Sun God, Great Tlatoani of the Alliance, the supreme King, graced the ritual!"
With a cold expression, Aweit gripped the Divine Staff in his hand and walked to the edge of the Great Pyramid Temple. He was clad in the king’s attire adorned with the image of the sun, topped with an exquisite Feather Crown of Obsidian, and wore on his back a magnificent cape inlaid with gemstones. For today’s ritual, he had arrived early at the side chamber next to the Great Temple to prepare. Only after the immortal elders left did he appear as the sole King.
At this moment, the King ascended the pinnacle, overlooking the crowd like ants, reveling in the prostration and reverence of his Citizens. A faint smile curved his lips. His gaze swept over the area around the pyramid, the still-smoking massive wooden cannons, and the busy royal cannoneers loading them, inwardly nodding.
"Such roaring wooden cannons can awe the heart! They are indeed fitting for use in rituals, to declare the Divine Might of the Royal Family!"
Ever since he first witnessed the power of the wooden cannons, Aweit had completely taken a liking to this new type of weaponry. More precisely, he appreciated the tremendous boom of the explosions.
In the eyes of the King, who reigned supreme over the hearts of people, the raw power of the wooden cannons was actually not astonishing. However, in this era of blind faith in the deities, if one were to cloak the wooden cannons in a veil of Divinity, presenting them as Divine Artifacts bestowed by the deities, they could strike directly at the heart on the battlefield, achieving what thousands of Samurai could not! During the battle with the Tlaxcala legion, the roar of the wooden cannon had successfully demoralized the enemy. Similarly, the mock cannons in the ritual could also intimidate the Citizens and states!
With a commanding presence, Aweit oversaw the scene for nearly a Quarter, while the crowd on the plaza remained motionless, crawling in reverence for a long time. Only when he saw the cannoneers had finished loading did the King lift the Divine Staff high, and bellow with a stern voice.
"Under the Chief Divine’s protection, a great victory in battle! To the Chief Divine, I offer the most precious Sacrifice! He is the King of the Tarasco Kingdom, the Cazonci of the Prepetcha people, the Divine Descendant King Su’angua!"
"Sacrifice the King of Tarasco, Su’angua!... Boom, boom, boom...!"
Hundreds of priests chanted together, followed by three more roars of the deities. The community priests shouted the will of the gods, and the citizens of the twenty-five thousand Capital City gradually quieted down.
Then, the distant sound of a Bamboo Flute erupted at the end of the main road. Encircled by nearly a hundred Samurai, a group of forty strong men shouldering a wide wooden platform approached slowly from miles away. They passed in front of the dwellings of common folk, through the gardens of the Nnobility, beyond the Temple Pyramid of the priests, and under the gaze of countless eyes amidst the frenzied shouts of the populace, they finally arrived at the Temple Plaza!
Xiuxoke gripped his Long Spears tightly, his eyes widened as he watched the wooden platform draw nearer.
Atop the splendid wooden platform sat a silent young man surrounded by four lovely young Priestesses. He was dressed in the Divine Eagle warrior attire of Tarasco, wearing the forked Kingdom Crown on his head. Although his face was pale, it still bore a trace of his long-held authority. Led by the priests, the platform made a deliberate detour around the area where the envoys gathered, evoking gasps of shock.
"It really is, it really is... the King of Tarasco... Su’angua!"
"He was captured alive and brought here as a Sacrifice for the Alliance!"
"The Tarasco Kingdom, mighty for two hundred years, has met such an end!..."
"Ah, your Majesty!..."
The wooden platform slowly moved past, and Su’angua kept his head bowed motionless as if asleep. It wasn’t until he passed the lineup of blue Sacrifices and heard the suppressed, familiar shouts that he opened his eyes again. Figures of familiar and unfamiliar Tarascan Great Nobility appeared and disappeared before the King’s eyes, stirring ripples in his deathly still eyes.
"The Divine Descendant of the Kingdom, the Divine Eagle King, journey together to the Divine Kingdom, facing the ancient ancestors... Ah, how splendid!"
The wooden platform slowly came to rest in front of the Great Temple, then thudded heavily onto the ground. With a rueful smile, Su’angua stood up from the platform, calmly welcoming his fated destiny. He ascended the sixty-meter Great Pyramid Temple one step at a time, walking past the hundreds of priests and warriors, until he reached the last step where the raging Sacred Fire reflected on his pale and tranquil face. Not far away, Aweit lifted his Feather Crown, his lips bursting into a smile, as if he were the jubilant Sun God welcoming him.